A strong majority of surgeons in the orthopedic department at Detroit Medical Center sent a letter protesting the departure of the department's former chief.

Twenty-six orthopedic surgeons sent a letter on Oct. 10 to the chairman of DMC and hospital head of Tenet Healthcare Corp., the Dallas-based investor-owned parent company of DMC, asking why Khaled Saleh, M.D., had departed after only 16 months as chief of orthopedics.

The surgeons who signed the letter also asked DMC to reinstate Saleh, a nationally recognized surgeon who had been recruited to DMC in June 2016 as executive in chief of DMC orthopedics and sports medicine after an exhaustive national search.

Bryan Little, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at DMC Harper Hospital, this week was named to serve as interim department head.

Saleh was tasked with the job of boosting DMC's orthopedic surgery productivity, increasing efficiency and quality and improving its teaching program for residents and medical students. He was also asked to steadily increase his own surgical volume.

DMC has been facing declining patient volume this year and is 4.64 percent and $16 million under budget through the first six months of this year, according to a DMC activity report.

In a statement, DMC spokesman John Truscott said the hospital system doesn't comment on internal personnel matters. He declined to comment on the reason for Saleh's departure. Another DMC spokesman previously told Crain's that Saleh's contract was not renewed. No further reason was given for his departure.

"We remain focused on providing excellent orthopedic services to our patients and will continue to work closely with our exceptional orthopedic physicians," said Truscott, president and principal Lansing-based Truscott Rossman.

During his short tenure, Saleh recruited or hired nearly 10 DMC orthopedic surgeons to the more than 30-surgeon department to fill needed specialties such as hand, ankle and spine.

"We were completely surprised by Tenet Physician Resources' decision to terminate Dr. Saleh's employment last week," said the Oct. 10 letter signed by the surgeons. "The decision came as a shock to those of us who have worked with him over the past 16 months. ... Since his arrival, things have changed only for the better for our patients, our physicians, and our residents.

"If there was a credible reason for Dr. Saleh's termination, we have yet to hear it. In the absence of transparency, rumor and conjecture fill the space, creating fertile ground for resentment and discontent," the letter said.

The letter was addressed to Eric Evans, president of hospital operations for Tenet in Dallas, and John Levy, president of the DMC board of trustees in Bloomfield Hills. Tenet is an investor-owned system that owns 77 hospitals in the U.S.

Saleh declined comment when contacted by Crain's.

However, three people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity said Saleh did not conduct the surgical volume he was required to perform in his contract and became a casualty of ongoing cost-cutting at the DMC.

Over the past three years, DMC has laid off or not filled more than 325 positions as part of cost-cutting moves to boost profitability. Tenet has been trying to improve its finances to bolster sagging stock prices. This year it has announced the sale of more than eight hospitals and is restructuring its regional corporate offices.

The orthopedics department oversees the sports medicine program that is now in talks with the Ilitch family's Olympia Development of Michigan to build a new sports medicine center near Little Caesars arena to serve the Detroit Red Wings and Tigers as well as the general public, Crain's has reported.

The surgeons' letter cited among Saleh's accomplishments:

Development of a perioperative institute of excellence, a common pathway for arthroplasty patients, and a standardized approach to multi-room surgery.

Unified clinical teams that led to fewer surgical complications, and improved patient outcomes and physician and patient satisfaction.